Ten.Three Hundred & Sixty-Three

2. I didn't wash the doors or baseboards yesterday which means that since it's cleaning day today, I'll add them to the list.

3. Fog rising up from the wetlands out back. I decide to prune back the tomato plants so that my okra and the rosemary will survive. I decide to trust that I will get what I need.

4. There are these yellow wildflower or weeds out back that I can't wait to trim back and then stick around the house. Yellow used to be my least favorite color but now I see its virtues. Maybe it was only a matter of time. Yellow was my grandmother's favorite color and so when I see these wildflower-weeds I think of her kitchen in Atlanta and the cast iron trivets with ceramic tiles painted with sunflowers.

5. I take my time going over the baseboards. I think of the quote that says something like, housework is love made visible. I complain about the cleaning, but every week I get on my hands and knees and am grateful for the space that holds us.

6. Pool. Crowded. I get everyone situated. I realize that I've under-rated adult swim. I decided that today, that's the only time I'll spend in the pool. I manage to read a few pages of "Braiding Sweetgrass."

7. But is it cultural appropriation for those of us who are uninitiated and homeless and finding a connection in the philosophies and ideologies of other peoples and nations?

8. A few years ago—maybe even just last year—I would have been concerned about the darkening of my skin but this summer I'm relishing the heat and the way the cocoa hues deepen from a few hours in the sun.

9. We get there in just in time for the reservation though it doesn't really matter because it's a Thursday evening in a suburban town. But this is some of the best food in the western suburbs in my opinion. A half glass of Prosecco, a bottle of Piper-Heidsieck, pork belly with cavatelli in a parmesan broth, corn chowder with a smoked poblano crema, wild boar chops with gnocchi and shallots and peas, a glass of 1955 Bodegas Toro Albala Don PX, whiskey date cake, and a cup of decaf. Happy Birthday indeed.

10. The passing of time is often this quiet and ordinary but still full of magic when we choose to pay attention.